Posted on 07/28/2004 7:11:21 PM PDT by Antoninus
Following is an interview conducted by Catholic Men's Quarterly of Former Boston Mayor and Ambassador to the Vatican Ray Flynn.
CMQ: You were often called the Lech Walesa of Boston politics. Why?
Flynn: Lech Walesa is a devout Catholic, a union electrician who led the anti-Communist movement in Poland, who later became president of Poland. I supported him in his cause, including raising money for the striking workers in Gdansk Ship Yard. I was a union dockworker who, like Walesa, knew and admired Pope John Paul II. Walesa and I became good friends through the years.
CMQ: Who are some of the people you most admire and what are some of your interests?
Flynn: My favorite saint is Thomas More. My favorite U.S. president was FDR. I love Broadway musicals and have seen just about every one for the past 35 years. I also love Irish and Italian music. In my lifetime outside of family, I most admire Pope John Paul II, John W. McCormack (former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives), Dorothy Day, Mother Teresa, and Hubert H. Humphrey.
CMQ: You were a great athlete. Who were some of your idols in the world of sports and entertainment?
Flynn: Ted Williams, Johnny Unitas, Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax, Willie Mays and Gil Hodges. How much time do you have? Andrea Bocelli, Connie Francis, and the Ink Spots are my favorite entertainers, and Dr. Zhivago, The Scarlet and the Black with Gregory Peck, and Chicago are my favorite movies.
CMQ: Do you think pro-life Democrats can turn things around in their own party at least to the point where a candidate has a chance to be nominated for President if he is pro-life?
Flynn: The Democratic Party was once the party that welcomed everyone. It was also the party that fought for social and economic justice, working class families, the elderly, and the needy. Today, it excludes pro-lifers, faithful Catholics, and it has become more like the Republican Party, a party run by the rich and famous elites who are out of touch with people that I represented. No, a pro-life candidate cannot get nominated to be U.S. President in the Democratic Party.
CMQ: What would you like to see the Democratic Party do in the 2004 campaign?
Flynn: Welcome back all traditional, blue-collar, working-class Democrats who stopped voting Democratic because of the party’s extremist position on abortion and its refusal to support Catholic judges who are faithful to their values and beliefs. I’d love to hear it said politically at the Democratic National Convention in Boston that the party is open to everyone once again.
CMQ: What should Democrats who are dedicated pro-lifers do if the Party continues to ignore them or take them for granted?
Flynn: Ignore them. Don’t vote for any pro-choice candidates.
CMQ: What can people who feel abandoned by the Democratic Party do?
Flynn: They can let their elected officials know of their outrage and promise not to support them.
CMQ: Are the bishops who want to hold Catholic politicians accountable for consistently voting against God’s laws on life issues within their rights?
Flynn: The bishops are correct when they call on Catholic politicians to be true to their beliefs and values. These politicians want the Catholic vote on Election Day but then ignore their religious and moral values. The Church needs to take a strong stand against Catholic politicians who are hypocritical in what they say as opposed to how they vote. The bishops struck the right moral balance in their recent policy sanctioning Catholic politicians who consistently vote against pro-life legislation. Such politicians will have no place of honor within the Catholic Church.
CMQ: Though they did say pro-choice politicians should not be honored by Catholic institutions, the bishops decided not to establish a nationwid policy that would exclude Catholic politicians who support abortion from reception of the Eucharist. Did their decision to leave it up to individual bishops disappoint you?
Flynn: Yes, it did. I really think the Church has to speak clearly with one voice on this issue.
CMQ: How important will the Catholic vote be in November?
Flynn: If Bush receives at least 48% of the Catholic vote, he should be re-elected. If the Democrats are perceived as way out on the left on moral and cultural issues, there will be a political backlash against them.
CMQ: What about the Republican party?
Flynn: They have never been the party who speaks for the weak, the needy, or poor and working families. That’s why many Democrats have not quit the party.
CMQ: Thank you very much, Ambassador Flynn, for your time.
Flynn: You’re welcome.
In addition to his other accomplishments, Ray Flynn is the author of two books, the bestseller The Accidental Pope, (written with Robin Moore) published by St. Martins Press and John Paul II, The Pope and the Man.
Except if you were black down south...or up north for quite a while for that matter. Or if you were of Japanese desent on the west coast. Or of German desent during the first two decades of the 20th century.
It was also the party that fought for social and economic justice, working class families, the elderly, and the needy.
It certainly did fight for them - fought to keep them in exactly the same position and always dependent on the local alderman or ward heeler
Today, it excludes pro-lifers, faithful Catholics, and it has become more like the Republican Party, a party run by the rich and famous elites who are out of touch with people that I represented.
Yup, no doubt about it, it sure is tough to find a middle class regular joe like Franklin Roosevelt who lives in a regular working class neighborhood like Hyde Park thse days...
No, a pro-life candidate cannot get nominated to be U.S. President in the Democratic Party.
Well, he got that right...
Can anyone post an email address for Amb. Flynn?
Former Boston Mayor Ray Flynn lights up the Democrats on Pro-Life and taking Catholic voters for granted. Way to go, Ambassador Flynn!
Ping your lists! Pass it on!
CMQ: What should Democrats who are dedicated pro-lifers do if the Party continues to ignore them or take them for granted?
Flynn: Ignore them. Don’t vote for any pro-choice candidates.
CMQ: What can people who feel abandoned by the Democratic Party do?
Flynn: They can let their elected officials know of their outrage and promise not to support them.
'I hope that when Ron Reagan goes back to his hotel room he sees an embryo that was once protected.'
May God Bless Zell and keep him, and all of his kin.
Hard to believe that this guy was a Clinton appointee.
Blind pigs. Broken clocks.
You're right! They are without any substance at all.
"Way to go, Ambassador Flynn!"
Gosh yes, he's a great man. His reward WILL be in the next world. I'm so happy of him, he continues to make me proud to be an Irish-American.
And he sticks with that party, I think he really does wish to save their souls. A lesser man would have been out of there long ago. He reminds me of my dad.
65% of Catholics voted for Gore in 2000, lets hope that Bush does get 48%
Source?
Ray Flynn said these things and they are not true.
"They [Republicans] have never been the party who speaks for the weak,the needy, or poor and working families. That’s why many Democrats have not quit the party."
Ambassador to the Vatican! Hardly a seat of power or influence in the Clinton admin (and it got him out of the country!).
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